


The Right Man For The Job

by starkly



Category: Avengers Academy (Video Game)
Genre: Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Pining, SA3, Stevetonystudios
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-22
Updated: 2017-09-22
Packaged: 2019-01-04 04:22:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12161448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starkly/pseuds/starkly
Summary: Tony keeps showing up at parties with a new girl on his arm every time. Steve knows better than to listen to rumors about classmates' love lives. So why can't he stop worrying about these?





	The Right Man For The Job

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was written for the [Steve/Tony Studios](http://stevetonystudios.tumblr.com/) Superhusbands Aluminum Anniversary Anthology, a free digital anthology with almost 600 pages of wonderful fic and art from creators in the fandom! Go [here](http://stevetonystudios.itch.io/sa3-anthology) to download the anthology.
> 
> I'd been looking for AvAc fake dating fic and couldn't find any so I decided hey why not write something? Maybe it will inspire people to write their own AvAc fake dating fic.

Tony hasn’t been to a Stark Industries event since his parents passed. He blames it on school, both the piles of homework and constantly having to defend Avengers Academy from outside attacks, but he’s also not _technically_ CEO yet. It gets him out of boring responsibilities for a while, until the morning he wakes up to a stern email requesting his presence at the next Stark-sponsored charity gala. Being (almost) CEO has its perks, but this is definitely not one of them. Who knew rich-people parties could be so tiring? They never even have a decent cheese plate spread.

 

Going to galas means being around all his parents’ old friends, and more importantly, all their kids. And Tony’s had enough of being smarmed at by tipsy heiresses and cocky trust-fund jerks. It seems like no matter what he does to fend them off, none of them can take a hint.

 

He sighs and shuts off his phone after glancing over the email several more times and failing to come up with an excuse to skip out, then sets it down on the bar at Club A. The robot bartender has been trying to offer him another soda for the past ten minutes despite him not having finished his first one.

 

“Isn’t it a little early to start drinking?” The question comes from right behind him, and Tony nearly falls out of his seat in surprise.

 

“It’s soda,” he says sourly, straightening up and looking over his shoulder at Natasha.

 

“What’s with the face?” she asks, sitting down on the stool beside him. The bartender seizes the opportunity to finally foist the soda can onto someone, and Natasha takes it and opens it one-handed.

 

“What face?” Tony shrugs and sips his own drink. “Can’t a guy sit alone in an empty club in peace?”

 

“Yeah, but not you. So spill.”

 

“Since when do you care?” he snaps, hoping to fend her off early before she keeps prying. Maybe if he pisses her off she’ll leave him alone.

 

He stares at Natasha as the mental light bulb of ingenuity metaphorically flickers on. Natasha’s hot, no doubt, but she can be prickly too, and downright intimidating. _Perfect_ for fending off annoying socialites he doesn’t want to interact with.

 

“Do you want to go to a party with me?” he blurts out, and Natasha raises an eyebrow at him. “Strictly professional, of course. I need everyone to think I’m taken. Preferably by a smokin’ hot babe who can also kill you with a dining utensil. You don’t even need to hold my hand.”

 

Natasha slowly takes a sip of her soda, staring Tony down all the while. At first he thinks she’s going to turn him down, which is totally understandable considering a) he’s being kind of a jerk right now, and b) it’s probably a stupid idea that won’t even work, but finally she just asks,

 

“Do you know how to tango?”

 

“Uh,” Tony falters, caught by surprise. “No?”

 

“Learn it. Text me the date and time of the party.” She picks up her drink and stands, clearly considering the conversation over. “And if I have to hold your hand to really sell the con, then so be it, Stark.”

 

She gives him a nod and then heads out, leaving Tony mildly stupefied and kind of aroused. Maybe this dumb plan actually will work.

 

*

 

“Aww, how cute!”

 

Steve looks up from his textbook while someone on the other side of the library ‘shhh’s loudly. Jan pays no mind to the admonition, fingers flying over her phone as she quickly texts back whoever is on the other end.

 

“I thought you wanted me to help you study,” he says quietly, setting his pen down on the table. “What’s up?”

 

“First of all, Steve, I love you, but nobody says ‘what’s up’ anymore,” Jan tells him, patting the back of his hand. Steve’s pretty sure he heard Luke and Danny say it the other day, but he just lets Jan have that one. “Nat’s sending me selfies.”

 

Steve hadn’t realized Natasha was the kind of person who took selfies, and he leans over curiously as Jan holds out her phone.

 

The first picture is of Natasha in a long, red evening gown, location obscured—the back of a limo, maybe? But the next photo is somewhere else, Natasha snapping a picture of herself in front of a giant swan ice sculpture. She’s making a silly face at the swan, which is surprising enough on its own, but behind her and the ice sculpture is Tony, dressed in black tie and turning toward Natasha like he just noticed what she was doing. He’s halfway through cracking a smile, his hair neatly styled and his eyes bright with amusement, and from what Steve can see he looks pretty incredible in that tuxedo.

 

What are Tony and Natasha doing at some fancy party together?

 

Steve frowns, looking the photo over again for hints of their location. “Widow take Stark on some kind of mission?”

 

“No, silly, it’s just a regular party.” Jan takes back her phone and starts texting again. “Some charity thing.”

 

Steve thinks about the goofy expression on Natasha’s face, the delighted surprise on Tony’s. “I thought them dating didn’t work out?”

 

Jan shrugs. “Oh, don’t worry, I’m going to grill Tony when he gets back.”

 

Steve has half a mind to tell her not to bother Tony about it, but he knows how Jan gets when it comes to gossip. And to Tony. Besides, he’s kind of curious about the answer himself. More than ‘kind of.’ It’s not any of his business, though, and he drops his gaze to stare at his open textbook without really absorbing any of the words. Thanks goodness for his photographic memory. Even if it does mean he can’t get the picture of Tony smiling in a tux out of his head for the rest of the night.

 

*

 

Tony ducks behind an ostentatiously large potted plant with a tray in his hands that he’d snagged from a server on his way over. “Nice hiding spot,” he remarks, crouching down beside Natasha. “Cheese?”

 

She picks up a cube of cheddar and nibbles at it. “I’m not hiding. I’m doing recon.”

 

“You’re scaring off people who want to make out back here.” He pauses, giving Natasha a considering look.

 

“Don’t even think about it, Stark,” she warns, though she looks slightly less menacing with a toothpick between her teeth. Or maybe more menacing? He can’t decide. Knowing how many ways she can probably hurt him with just a toothpick is making him lean toward ‘more.’

 

“I wasn’t! I was just wondering if _you_ wanted to make out behind this plant.”

 

“Just eat your cheese, Tony.”

 

Tony obediently pops a cube of Swiss into his mouth. “Hey, thank you,” he says after a moment, looking at Natasha over the tray. “For coming to the party with me.”

 

Natasha shrugs slightly, the curls that have escaped her updo brushing against her bare shoulders. “It wasn’t so bad. I’m not going to do it again though. You need to learn to fight your own fights. Plus, you didn’t learn how to tango like I told you.”

 

“I do fight my own fights! Just—” He frowns at the cheese platter. “Man, I think Sunset was _really_ going to fight you, like, for real. I do _not_ want to deal with that.”

 

“You’re going to have to eventually. What, are you planning on bringing a fake date to every party?”

 

“Nat, you’re a genius.”

 

“That’s not—” She stops, sighs, and just takes another piece of cheese. “Don’t bring Jan, she really will fight Sunset for you.”

 

*

 

Steve tries to put the thought of Tony and Natasha out of his head, and for the most part it works. Until classes start up again on Monday and Steve runs into Tony on the quad.

 

“Hey!” Tony greets him with a wave, bright as ever. “I’m headed to the Blasting Range, want to come get totally crushed again?”

 

Steve does, really, but he bites back a sigh and says, “I can’t, I’ve got a Defying Physics class with Pym in ten minutes.”

 

“Oh, too bad.” Steve must imagine the slump in Tony’s shoulders, because a second later he’s grinning again and adding, “It’s cool, we’ll go later. You do anything fun this weekend?”

 

“Just some studying.” He can’t help think about Natasha’s photos of her and Tony having a good time at some unknown party. “Did you?”

 

Tony waves a hand, the bright red metal gleaming in the sunlight. “Not really. Had some work stuff.”

 

“Oh.” He’s not sure what to even say to that; if he asks about the party it’ll seem creepy, won’t it?

 

Somewhere far off, a bell rings out the hour, saving him from making this conversation any more awkward. “I better get to class—”

 

Tony nods and claps him on the shoulder. “Yeah, no problem. Catch you later!”

 

Steve watches him go, then turns toward the lab. That could definitely have gone better. And it didn’t do anything to stop him thinking about Tony at that party.

 

*

 

Natasha may have turned him down as a permanent party buddy, but Jan, as usual, is his savior. She’d been all too happy to accompany him to the next event, and Tony wondered why he’d ever thought Natasha was the better option in the first place. Jan’s used to these kinds of parties because of her family, and she always manages to fill any awkward silences. Hours full of potential boredom pass with surprising speed when Jan’s around.

 

“You’re a real lifesaver, Jan,” he mutters as the party’s winding down. Indries had been rather subdued tonight, and even Sunset had given him a larger berth than normal. (Unfortunately, even Jan’s chatter hadn’t been enough to keep Justin Hammer away, and Tony’d had to endure a whole speech about some drone Hammer was working on that Tony already knew wasn’t going to work.)

 

“I’m always here to help!” she replies with a grin, bumping hips with him. “Natasha’s not relaxed enough to play a convincing rich heiress.”

 

“And you’re an expert?”

 

“Of course! I know what these people like. And don’t like.”

 

Tony snorts, handing over the coat check ticket to retrieve Jan’s coat. “And what’s that?”

 

“Fashion and money, and people telling them they’re wrong, respectively,” she says as the man at the counter hands Tony her jacket.

 

“I could’ve told you that,” he grumbles, holding out Jan’s coat so she can slip it on. She turns and shimmies into it, and Tony hears the ‘click’ of a camera going off.

 

He sighs and starts to apologize to Jan for the paparazzi, but she’s faster, grabbing him by the hands and whispering, “Be convincing!” before planting one on him.

 

As far as kisses go, it isn’t his best. He almost flails back in shock but manages to keep it under control long enough to return the kiss without knocking Jan over.

 

She pulls away a moment later, loops her arm in Tony’s, then tugs him toward the exit. He waits until they’re out of earshot from everyone before he exclaims,

 

“What was that!”

 

“Uh, a kiss?”

 

“I know _that_ ,” he sputters, face pinking slightly. “I mean, now it’s going to be all over the internet and stuff.” What if people from school saw it? Loki would be insufferable. And Steve...well, it doesn’t matter what Steve thinks, anyway.

 

“I told you it had to be convincing. Now everyone will think you’re off the market, isn’t that what you wanted?”

 

Tony frowns, because she’s not wrong in her assessment, but something still feels...off.

 

“I don’t think I can pretend to date you, Jan,” he says quietly, almost apologetic. “Kissing you was weird. No offense.”

 

“Oh thank gosh.” Jan sighs in relief, patting him on the arm. “It was really weird. Let’s not do that again.”

 

Tony isn’t sure if he should be offended or not, but regardless he’s back at square one again. This fake dating thing was turning out to be a lot harder than expected.

 

*

 

Steve scowls at the lopsided vase sitting on the pottery wheel in front of him. Pottery is looking less and less like his strong suit, despite what he’d promised Sam about trying to find new stress-reducing leisure activities. There’s nothing wrong with wailing on a few punching bags, in his opinion.

 

He digs his fingers into the clay in frustration, sighing, only to regret it a moment later. Now he’ll have to start all over again.

 

By the time Sam walks in, he’s nearly back where he was before, but not doing any better at it.

 

“Steve! Did you know Jan and Tony were dating?”

 

Steve looks up in surprise, his half-formed vase crumpling between his hands once again. “What? Says who?”

 

Sam gives him a look, presumably for the ruined pottery and not his incredulity at Sam’s gossip. “Says this blog Loki sent me. I mean, it’s Loki, so...yeah, but they have a pic.”

 

He holds out his phone for Steve to look at. Steve almost doesn’t want to look, doesn’t want to pry into Tony’s private life, but his curiosity gets the better of him.

 

It looks like another party, like the one Natasha was sending selfies from. Tony’s wearing that really nice tuxedo again. He’s also kissing Jan. Something uncomfortable rolls through him, and he sits back, waving the phone away.

 

“It’s none of our business,” he says while Sam flicks a speck of clay off the corner of his phone. Despite his words, he can’t help wondering if Tony really is dating Jan. He’d always thought they were just good friends, and besides, what about Natasha?

 

“Hey, I just thought you’d like to know,” Sam replies, sitting down next to Steve.

 

“Since when do I care about rumors?”

 

Sam laughs. “Since it involves Stark? And that ‘not-prom’ school dance is coming up?”

 

Is he really that predictable? Glancing down at his demolished vase, Steve thinks maybe he is. He’d been toying with the idea of asking Tony to the end-of-the-year Academy dance in a couple months, but ever since Jan showed him those photos from Natasha he isn’t sure that’s a good idea anymore. How can he compete with amazing people like Natasha and Jan?

 

*

 

So, Natasha’s out, and so is Jan after that stunt she pulled last time. Three parties in a row with three different girls would look sketchy, but maybe that’s a good thing? He could always get Loki to shape-shift into Widow and go with him—but no, that’s way too creepy. And it’d be even creepier if Loki agreed to do it.

 

Groaning, he scrubs a hand over his face, leaning back against the statue of his dad on the quad. “This is all your fault,” he grumbles, tilting his head back to glare up at Howard. “How am I supposed to live up to this dumb name?”

 

“Tony? Are you okay?”

 

Tony scrambles to stand upright, nearly banging his head in the process. “Steve, hey! I’m good, I’m, uh, what’s up?”

 

Steve watches him uncertainly, his shield slung over his shoulder. “Just headed to the Dojo...”

 

He trails off, still looking at him in a way Tony’s not sure how to interpret. Was he worried about something? Tony doesn’t think he’d done anything lately that would warrant worry. He hasn’t blown up anything important in almost a month.

 

“Cool,” he replies, feeling like an idiot. “Don’t let me stop you.”

 

He thinks Steve looks kind of hurt, but he must be imagining things because Steve just nods and continues down the sidewalk. A moment later, however, he stops and looks back, hesitating. Tony’s not sure he’s ever seen Steve hesitate before.

 

“You and Jan. You’re not...dating?”

 

Oh no. If _Steve_ of all people saw that picture, it must’ve been seriously widespread. Maybe he’ll have to keep pretending to date Jan for maximum authenticity.

 

“No! No, not Jan.” Someone on the other side of the quad calls his name, and he grasps the thin lifeline of escape. For some reason talking about dating Jan with Steve unsettled him. “Sorry, I’ve gotta go. Talk to you later, Cap.”

 

He dashes off across the quad, feeling like the statue of Howard is staring at him the whole way, judging.

 

*

 

‘ _Not Jan.’_ So Tony wasn’t dating Jan, but he was dating someone else. Someone he didn’t feel comfortable telling Steve about, if how quickly he’d run off was any indication. Not that it’s any of Steve’s business who Tony dates, he reminds himself, chiding. He’d lost his chance, waited too long yet again. Why hadn’t he learned his lesson last time?

 

For all his blustering pick-up lines and casual flirting, Tony never really followed through on any of it. To Steve it seemed like first dates were his limit, and his interest bounced around without settling into anything serious. So Steve had waited—for what? The right time? So much for that. Waiting had seemed better than pushing Tony into some kind of relationship he didn’t want, and Steve stands by his decision. Tony wasn’t interested in him, and that was okay.

 

He sighs and slides the shield onto his arm, activating the training sequence for the dojo. There’s no pointing dwelling on it when there’s nothing he can do. In the meantime, smashing robots could do him some good.

 

*

 

It turns out that dwelling? Is something Steve’s surprisingly good at. For two weeks he watches everyone on campus and wonders who’s dating Tony. Natasha? Maybe those pictures at that party really meant something. Enchantress? No, she flirts but never dates either. Union Jack? Steve shamefully spends a whole evening glaring at Brian after seeing him and Tony get drinks together at Club A, until Mantis accidentally bumps Steve’s elbow and exclaims, “ _Wow_ , those are some bad feelings!” and he has to excuse himself from the party. There’s no way he’ll ever find out like this, getting jealous of everyone who goes within five feet of Tony.

 

Loki is his last resort.

 

“You know gossip, right?” he asks the demigod trickster after catching him heading out of the dorms.

 

“I know of it. Since when are you interested in gossip?” Loki replies, a sly grin already on his face.

 

“Just wanted to know if you heard anything interesting lately.”

 

“Depends… What’s in it for me, Flag Man?”

 

Steve snorts. “Like you’d pass up the opportunity to spread rumors for fun.”

 

“Me? Sure. You...” Loki shakes his head. “Clearly you’re desperate. It’s about Stark, isn’t it?”

 

Steve wants to ask if it’s that obvious to everyone, but it doesn’t matter, he supposes. “I just wanted to know if he’s been, uh, seeing anyone?”

 

Loki crosses his arms, lifting an eyebrow at him. “What’s it to you?”

 

“Indulge me.”

 

“That is the _last_ thing I want to do, Star-Spangled Star-Crossed Fool, trust me. But last I heard he went to some party downtown with the one and only Pepper Potts.”

 

Pepper. Of course. Tony’d been sweet on her since day one. Why he wouldn’t want to tell Steve about it is still a mystery, but it makes sense he wouldn’t want people gossiping about it. Which is exactly what Steve’s doing now.

 

“Thanks,” he mutters, turning away. Loki stops him with a hand on his shoulder.

 

“It’s just a party, Rogers,” he says, giving Steve a surprisingly sympathetic look. “Why don’t you actually talk to him?”

 

Steve shrugs him off. Historically, taking advice from Loki is never a good thing.

 

*

 

“Tony, I can’t pretend to be your fake girlfriend. It’s ridiculous.”

 

Tony frowns at the total non-sequitur from Pepper, popping his head out from under the armor he’s working on. “But I thought you had a good time at that last party?”

 

Pepper crosses her legs, perfectly polished nails tapping against the worktable she’s sitting on. “Your friend Sunset spilled wine on me.”

 

“Yeah, she does that sometimes. And she’s not really my friend.”

 

“Tony...”

 

Tony ducks his head back under the suit. “Anyway, that’s why I need you. I can’t deal with those guys alone.”

 

“Sure you can. And I don’t think bringing a new girl every time is doing you any good.”

 

He hums thoughtfully. Maybe Pepper is right, but he still hates going alone, with everyone assuming they have a right to his time and personal space, like they knew him just because they knew his parents.

 

“Have you considered asking someone you actually like?” Pepper suggests.

 

“I like you—”

 

“Someone you like and is currently available?”

 

Tony groans. Why was finding a fake date so hard around here? Setting down his wrench, he tugs off his work glove and then his goggles. “I’ll think about it. Right now I think I need to go punch some stuff.”

 

Pepper stays at the tower to check in with JARVIS, and Tony heads to the gym. It’s not his usual go-to place to de-stress, but he needs something out of the ordinary right now.

 

And speaking of out of the ordinary—there’s Steve lifting way too many weights for a normal person. Steve grins when he sees Tony enter the building, but he doesn’t stop his set. Show off.

 

“Come to admire yourself in the mirror again?”

 

Tony rolls his eyes. “Some of us actually have to work to maintain our sweet bods.”

 

“I thought you were just naturally perfect?” Steve teases, and Tony scoffs but he can feel his cheeks heat slightly. He hurries past Steve to the treadmill, hoping his blush isn’t visible. What’s with the friendly flirting now, when it seems like Steve’s been kind of avoiding him for weeks?

 

Steve falls silent, perhaps realizing he’d crossed some sort of line. It isn’t Steve’s fault, really, but Tony doesn’t know where he stands with Steve at times. They’re getting along a lot better since that ‘Civil War’ debacle, at least, but sometimes Tony feels...a little overwhelmed by Steve’s presence.

 

Wait, that’s it! Tony spins around, looking at Steve with wide eyes. Steve’s intimidating, he’s handsome, he’s _Captain America_ —no one would bother him anywhere if he showed up with Cap on his arm.

 

Steve notices his staring and stops lifting, looking unsure. “Tony?”

 

“Do you want to come with me to this party on Friday?” he asks in a hurry before he loses his nerve, stopping the treadmill before he falls off it and embarrasses himself even more.

 

“A party?” Steve looks caught between confusion and disbelief, though Tony doesn’t know why a simple question like this is throwing Steve off so much.

 

“A charity gala thing. I’m supposed to make a good impression for SI and blah blah business things, but mostly I eat too many hors d’oeuvres and try to avoid all the old ladies who want to pinch my cheeks.”

 

“Don’t you already have...someone?”

 

Tony sighs, rubbing the back of his neck. “Nobody will go along with my schemes.”

 

“Schemes?” Steve finally sets down the dumbbell, still looking confused. Tony figures he should probably clarify. Not everyone is as much of a genius as he is, after all.

 

“I’ve been bringing dates to ward off, uh, potential unwanted attention.” He frowns, nose wrinkling, to show how well that’s been going. “But having Captain America as my date _has_ to deter these guys.”

 

Steve’s face falls as Tony explains, but he hides it pretty quick. “Tony, that’s really not...”

 

Tony huffs at the rebuke. He should’ve figured Steve wouldn’t approve, but that doesn’t mean he can judge him. “It’s fine, if you don’t want to help me I can find someone else.” Rhodey will probably do it for him, easy.

 

“I didn’t say that,” Steve replies quickly, wiping his hands on his shirt and moving closer. “It’s only one party?”

 

“Well, I won’t make you go back if you really hate it.”

 

“And it’s just...pretending to be your date?”

 

Tony shrugs. “I’m serious, Cap, I’m not gonna make you do anything weird.”

 

“No, it’s—I can help you out. If you’re sure.”

 

Tony grins, reaching out and slapping him on the arm. One very muscle-y, sweaty arm… Right, back on topic. “Awesome. I’ll pick you up Friday at six. You have a tux? Never mind, of course you don’t. I’ll fix that.”

 

He gives Steve’s bicep a squeeze—wow, that is firm—and hops off the treadmill. Well, problem solved, and surprisingly easy too. He really should’ve thought of this sooner. He leaves Steve alone in the gym, hurrying out before Steve can come to his senses and take back the offer.

 

*

 

Steve has got to be out of his mind. That’s all he can think for the rest of the week when he remembers he promised Tony he’d go on a fake date with him. To some fancy party. At least that explains all the rumors and photos from before, which is the only good thing about this predicament. Now he has to go on a date with Tony Stark and pretend he doesn’t actually want to go on dates with Tony Stark, while pretending that he actually does. It’s confusing.

 

He’s no good at these fancy events either. If he messes something up for Tony he’ll feel terrible. It’s almost enough to get him to find Tony and cancel, but then again, if all Tony needs him to do is scare off potential suitors, well...he can do that no problem.

 

Tony hadn’t been lying about sending a tailor to fix his lack of black tie apparel, and Friday morning a brand new tuxedo appears at his door. It probably cost a fortune, and Steve makes a note to figure out how to pay back Tony at some point. It fits perfectly though, and he supposes he looks pretty good. Maybe he can’t pull off ‘fancy’ as well as this particular crowd, but he thinks he does all right for himself.

 

Tony’s reaction proves that, oddly enough. He freezes mid-gesture when he sees Steve that evening, taking in the full, finished ensemble, and for a moment Steve worries something’s wrong or that Tony’s going to make fun of him. But Tony composes himself with a quick nod and says,

 

“Wow, we should’ve found an excuse to get you dressed up sooner. Nice.”

 

Steve resists the urge to tug at the hem of his jacket and smiles back at Tony, hoping it looks natural. “You don’t look too bad yourself.”

 

He looks way better than ‘not too bad,’ honestly. Tony’s tux fits him perfectly, of course, and he’d tamed the usual spikiness of his hair for the occasion. His prosthetic stands out even more against the solid black and white, but Steve likes the pop of color.

 

“Oh, people will definitely be looking at you tonight, not me,” Tony replies. This is clearly what Tony’s hoping for, if the eagerness in his voice is any indication, but it makes Steve a little uneasy. He’s never liked being the center of attention for no reason.

 

“I’ll try my best,” he jokes anyway, and Tony smiles at him, motioning toward the car they’re taking to the party.

 

Steve thanks the driver who opens the door for them, and when they’ve settled and the car’s heading out, Tony says,

 

“Sorry for all the fuss. We’re not actually going too far but I have to ‘make a good impression.’”

 

He says it like he’s imitating someone he’s heard say it a million times, and Steve wishes he could do something to wipe that frown off Tony’s face.

 

“It’s fine,” he reassures him. “If it were me I’d just take my bike, but I think that’s no good for the tuxes.” He laughs, nudging Tony’s knee with his own. They’re sitting awfully close to each other, he suddenly realizes, and has to remind himself it’s all just pretend.

 

Tony’s staring at him without saying anything, so he clears his throat and asks, “So, ah, what exactly do you want me to do?”

 

That seems to shake Tony out of it. “Oh. You don’t have to pretend to be my boyfriend or anything.” Steve feels stupidly disappointed at that, but he nods. “Just keep it ambiguous, you know? Glare at people who try to hit on me or talk about SI.”

 

“Won’t that be pretty much everyone?”

 

“You’ll have a busy night.”

 

It’s definitely not the night he expected to have when this week started. But how bad could it be to hang out with Tony and eat extravagant finger foods for an evening?

 

*

 

Tony’s pretty sure this is the first one of these ridiculous parties where everyone’s gossiping more about his date than him. Steve had been kind of stiff when they first arrived, a little awkward, and Tony’d had to give him a pep talk to calm him down. Granted, it had mostly consisted of grabbing Steve’s hand and squeezing while he whispered at Steve to please relax, but it seems to have done the trick. Nobody’s asked him anything about the company in almost twenty minutes.

 

“Man, I should’ve been bringing you to these from the start! You’re surprisingly charming when you want to be.”

 

Steve leans against a decorative column and gives Tony a look. “Surprisingly?”

 

“Well, normally you’re talking about training regimens or dissing my robots.”

 

Even in the low light in the corner of the ballroom, he can see Steve flush slightly. “Aw, Tony, you know I don’t think your robots are that bad. They’re actually pretty neat.”

 

“Wow, what a compliment,” Tony says, tone wry, then takes a sip of his sparkling cider to hide his grin. “What happened to that charm?”

 

“I’m saving it for emergencies,” Steve replies dryly, shrugging.

 

Tony laughs, taking another sip of his drink. Honestly, Steve’s not really that bad either. He’s surprisingly funny too. And pretty cool. Even if he did turn Tony down for that hug. (Is Tony holding a grudge about that? Of course not. He just hasn’t forgotten it.)

 

He turns to survey the ballroom, debating if it’s safe to make a run for the snack table, and nearly chokes on his sparkling cider.

 

“Emergency!” he gasps out, stepping back. It brings him into Steve’s personal space and he blurts out, “Put your arm around my waist.”

 

Steve sounds appropriately dumbfounded as he asks, “What?” but he surprises Tony by doing as he’s told, slipping an arm around Tony’s waist and setting his hand carefully on Tony’s hip just in time.

 

“Ty! Imagine seeing you here,” Tony says a little too loudly, smile strained. “I thought you were studying in France?”

 

Tiberius Stone, his tuxedo immaculate and blond hair perfectly coiffed, smiles widely as he approaches. He has a glass of wine in one hand and looks like he hadn’t known Tony was going to be at this party when in reality he clearly had. A tiny voice in the back of Tony’s mind tells him to flee, but he’s never been good at listening to that voice.

 

“I just got back,” Ty replies, sounding exactly like Tony remembers: that is, mildly sultry and really nice to listen to. Goddamn. “Heard all about your little Academy and I just had to stop in and check it out.”

 

His gaze drops to Steve’s hand on Tony’s waist, then up to Steve’s face, unimpressed. Steve stares back at him, equally unimpressed.

 

Tony clears his throat. “Steve, this is Ty Stone. He’s an old...friend of mine. His dad owns Viastone.” He pats Steve on the arm, practically holding his breath as he continues,

 

“Ty, this is Steve Rogers, my boyfriend. Captain America.”

 

*

 

The words ‘my boyfriend’ hit him harder than he’d expected, but Steve doesn’t move an inch. He smiles politely at Ty and holds out his free hand. “Nice to meet you.”

 

“Captain America, huh? The pleasure’s all mine,” Ty says with a firm shake of his hand. “I’m surprised Tony hasn’t been posting about you all over the place. I follow you on Twitter, you know, Anthony.”

 

Tony stammers something unintelligible, uncharacteristically at a loss for words, and Steve gently squeezes his hip. “I asked him to keep it on the down low,” he says, hoping that’s still something people say. Learning slang from Loki is always tricky. “Still getting used to how things are in the future. Tony’s been very accommodating.”

 

He glances down at Tony, who looks slightly dazed. Was he not doing this right? Tony’s the one who suddenly wanted to play up the boyfriend angle.

 

“Y-yeah. Haven’t really told a lot of people,” Tony finally chimes in. “Steve’s shy.”

 

Steve can’t hold back a snort, and Tony grins, relaxing a little against Steve’s arm. Ty nods, though Steve can’t tell if he actually believes them or not. Either way, he ignores Steve entirely to favor Tony with another smile.

 

“You’ll have to tell me all about this ‘Avengers Academy’ of yours,” he says, stepping closer and putting a hand on Tony’s wrist. “Over drinks?”

 

Steve narrows his eyes, a little shocked and a lot appalled this guy was clearly hitting on his boyfriend in front of him. Even if Tony isn’t really his boyfriend. He should still act offended.

 

“You can set up a campus tour if you’re interested,” he says firmly, drawing Tony back a little with the arm around his waist. Tony takes a startled step back, but he doesn’t complain. “I can even put in a good word with Director Fury if you’d like.”

 

Ty finally looks back at Steve, but his smile is decidedly colder. “That would be lovely,” he says, and it almost sounds entirely sincere. “We really ought to catch up, Tony.”

 

“Yeah, sure. Soon,” Tony answers noncommittally, and Steve has to stop himself from grinning. That’s what he gets for trying to steal Steve’s, uh, not-boyfriend.

 

“It was great meeting you,” he says instead as Ty turns to leave, unable to help himself.

 

Ty pauses, glancing back, and they lock eyes. Steve doesn’t look away, and eventually Ty mutters, “Likewise,” and walks off.

 

Tony lets out a loud sigh of relief. “Wow, I am so sorry. I had no idea he’d be here.”

 

“Your ex?” Steve hazards a guess.

 

“Something like that. It’s complicated.” Tony downs the rest of his drink, which makes Steve realize he’s still got an arm around him. Slowly, as if to avoid drawing attention to the move, he lets go of Tony’s waist.

 

No such luck.

 

“Oh, thanks for going along with all that. I saw Ty coming over and kind of panicked.”

 

Steve has a few uncharitable thoughts about Stone for provoking a reaction like that in Tony, but he keeps them to himself. “It’s okay. That’s what I’m here for, right?”

 

Tony doesn’t look convinced, and he fiddles with his empty glass for a moment before responding. “I mean, that’s not the _only_ reason. We’re friends, right?”

 

Steve smiles, bottling up the disappointment that begins to form. He likes Tony, of course he wants to be friends. It’s not Tony’s fault Steve’s never shown any interest in him. “Then I have no problem warding off exes and eating expensive cheese with you all night.”

 

Tony smiles for a brief moment before he notices something happening behind Steve. “Uh oh. He found Sunset.”

 

Steve cranes his neck around, catching sight of Ty talking to a dark-haired young woman in a shimmery gold dress he’d met earlier in the evening when she’d cornered him by the buffet table and asked him a bunch of questions about Tony and Stark Industries.

 

“Bet you half my cheese fridge he’s telling her we’re dating,” Tony says.

 

Sunset’s face goes through an impressive series of expressions—surprise, irritation, skepticism—before settling on an incredibly worrisome smirk.

 

“Too easy a win,” Steve replies, shaking his head. “Keep your fridge.” He sees Sunset glance over, and he reaches out to set a protective hand on Tony’s shoulder. “Want something to eat?”

 

“You read my mind,” Tony agrees, turning away from Ty and Sunset. “Stuffed mushrooms, here I come.”

 

Steve follows him, only hesitating a moment before resting a hand on the small of Tony’s back as they walk. Tony either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care, so Steve keeps it there. They make it safely across the room to the food, only to be waylaid by an older couple who apparently knew Tony’s parents. By the time they leave, Ty and Sunset are making their way over, looking wholly determined.

 

“Outside!” Tony hisses, grabbing Steve by the arm and pulling him away from a tray of prosciutto. He lets Tony drag him away from the table and out a nearby set of double doors that lead to a patio and elaborate garden setup. Tony quickly glances around, then nudges Steve farther into the garden, taking shelter behind some rose bushes.

 

“I’m not normally this much of a coward,” he mutters, leaning in close to Steve so they can talk quietly. “Just so you know.”

 

“I know,” Steve murmurs back, completely sincere.

 

Tony looks at him expectantly. “That’s it? No jab about my robots or something?”

 

“Tony...” Steve sighs. “I don’t mean to give you such a hard time about your robots. I think your inventions are amazing.” Even if some of them seem useless to him, they’re still pretty darn awe-inspiring. He thought he’d been better at voicing that lately, but he supposes Tony hasn’t let any of it go. “Though I admit I thought you’d be smoother at all this party stuff.”

 

“I am!” Tony protests loudly, then winces and lowers his voice. “I’m great at party stuff. But all these galas and charity dinners are so...fakey. Everyone just wants to talk about my parents or the company or my money.” He sighs, shoulders slumping. “I just wish people wanted to talk about me. The real me.”

 

Tony looks up at him and Steve’s breath catches in his throat. Paper lanterns decorate the garden, setting the place aglow and lighting up Tony’s eyes. He can’t look away, and even though he thinks he should probably defuse the situation by joking about how often Tony talks about himself, nothing comes out. He’s been rendered speechless by a single vulnerable expression on Tony’s face.

 

“Steve...” Tony starts slowly, looking unusually unsure of himself. Steve instinctively leans in, waiting.

 

Several sharp screams ring out from the ballroom, making Tony jump. There are more shouts and a loud crash, and Steve pushes all thoughts of what Tony could have been trying to say out of his head. He drops his plate of food and reaches for his shield, only to remember he doesn’t have it on him as his hand closes around empty air.

 

Tony looks at him for confirmation and Steve nods anyway. “Go, I’ll back you up.”

 

Tony leaps from behind the bushes, making a run for the ballroom. Steve jumps out after him, already making note of visible exits they can get civilians out through. There’s a flash of red and gold as Tony disappears through the door, but before Steve can follow, something hits him in the back, sending a jolt of pain through him. The jolt increases, bringing him to his knees, and he only has a moment to hope Tony didn’t get ambushed too before blacking out.

 

*

 

The ballroom is in disarray when Tony bursts in, repulsor at the ready. Partygoers are running and screaming but are being corralled into the center of the room by people in bright yellow and black suits. Tony practically groans at the sight—not AIM _again_. You’d think they’d learn not to mess with him by now.

 

“Ah, here he is! The man of the hour!” one of the AIM members says ostentatiously, this one dressed in a full hazmat suit. “Iron Man!”

 

Tony turns toward the apparent leader, steadying his palm in the man’s direction. “Sorry, pal, this party’s invite only.”

 

“Stark. Predictable as always,” the Scientist Supreme sneers. Around the room, AIM members are pointing guns at partygoers, too many for Tony to take out by himself. Where the heck is Steve?

 

“Let these people go! It’s me you want.” He assumes. Why else call him out?

 

“I don’t think so, Iron Man. Your parents owned this building, and you’re going to lead us to the hidden vault below, or else!”

 

Tony groans loudly. Even the supervillains only wanted his parents’ stuff. “Uh, yeah, that’s not happening. I don’t know about any secret vault.”

 

“Hmph. I knew you’d play hard to get. Which is why I decided to acquire some leverage.” He motions to one of his lackeys, and a few seconds later a body is dragged forward.

 

Tony gasps. How the hell did they get Steve?

 

The Scientist Supreme pauses, looking down at Tony’s unconscious teammate. “This isn’t the Van Dyne girl.”

 

The AIM minion shrugs. “You said get Stark’s date. That’s his date.”

 

“I thought he was dating some redheaded chick,” another AIM guy pipes up, and Tony stares incredulously at all of them.

 

“You’re telling me you don’t know who that is?” he asks.

 

The two minions look back down at Steve, but the Scientist Supreme just waves them away. “It matters not! You’ll tell us the location of the vault and how to access it or your date—and all these innocent people—get vaporized!”

 

Tony raises an eyebrow. “Really? That’s way more hardcore than anything you’ve done before.”

 

“There’s been some switch-ups in upper management.”

 

“Ah, that makes sense.”

 

“Now comply or he gets vaporized!” The Scientist Supreme points his gun at Steve’s body. Tony glances down, hedging. “It’s not very heroic of you to hesitate, Stark.”

 

“I mean, I said I don’t know what vault you’re talking about, let alone how to open it,” Tony says with a shrug. “And if you’re as evil as you’re saying, you’ll probably just vaporize him and me and everyone else here when you’re done anyway. So why should I help you?”

 

“Don’t test my patience, Stark!” The Scientist Supreme sounds like he’s getting angry, and Tony glances down at Steve again. Almost…

 

“Okay, okay, fine. I’ll tell you. Just let everyone else go first.”

 

The Scientist Supreme scoffs. “I’m not stupid, Stark. The vault first.”

 

“Right, well. I tried.” Tony brushes some nonexistent dust from his jacket. “You want to know something important?”

 

“Yes!” the Scientist Supreme snaps.

 

Tony lifts his repulsor again. “That’s Captain fucking America.”

 

Right on cue, Steve rolls to the side and knocks an AIM minion onto the ground, thrusting a leg out to kick the gun from the Scientist Supreme’s hands. Grinning, Tony spins around and shoots at the closest AIM member, knocking him back with a quick repulsor beam.

 

The remaining AIM minions thankfully ignore the crowd to shoot at Tony and Steve, though out of the corner of his eye Tony sees Sunset kick a guy in the shins. The rest of the AIM troops begin to scatter as sirens sound in the distance, only to be picked off one by one. Steve grabbed a serving tray and was using it as a makeshift shield, helping Tony take down stragglers. Finally the last guy is brought down by a well-placed repulsor plus serving tray combo, and Tony grins, meeting Steve’s eyes across the room as the dust begins to settle.

 

The ballroom is trashed, tables overturned and broken glass everywhere, but it could definitely have been worse. Tony makes his way over to Steve, who’s giving directions to a few civilians nearby, and gives him a quick once-over. Aside from the rumpled tux and the having been unconscious thing, Steve seems all right.

 

“Well _that_ was unexpected,” he says, nudging an unconscious AIM student with his toes.

 

Steve turns to look at him, still holding the dented platter. “Tony, are you okay?”

 

“Right as rain. Maybe this is a sign I should stop coming to these parties. Or bring you to more of them.” He nods at the tray. “You’re pretty handy with all kinds of discs, huh?”

 

“I can’t believe I let them catch me off guard,” Steve says with a scowl. Probably already planning a thousand training regimens for when they get back to school.

 

“I’m sorry they went after you because of me,” Tony says, hoping Steven can hear his sincerity. Steve can take care of himself, but Tony still worries about him. “...It was kind of funny though. I can’t believe they didn’t know who you were!”

 

Steve smirks. “Not everyone has their face on magazine covers.”

 

Tony crosses his arms over his chest. “Yeah, because _you_ keep refusing my offer to put you on one. The world’s being deprived.”

 

Before Steve can respond (undoubtedly to refuse again), a voice cuts in, nearly making Tony jump.

 

“How exciting! I certainly picked a good time to return home.”

 

Holding back a sigh, Tony turns to look at Ty. “Hey, man. You okay?”

 

“Never better. Sunset was more than happy to defend us.” He points at Tony’s right hand. “Now _that_ is fascinating. I was going to remark earlier it seemed to clash with your outfit, but I see now it has its uses. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, your taste has always been a tad gaudy. May I see it?”

 

Tony flushes, unconsciously clenching his hand. “It doesn’t come off.”

 

And he wouldn’t let Ty within a hundred feet of his Iron Man tech anyway, he adds silently.

 

Ty purses his lips, unruffled. “Ah, my condolences. Let me guess, you finally blew up one too many experiments in the lab—”

 

It happens almost too fast for Tony to even register. One second Ty’s standing casually in front of him, the next Ty’s getting thrown backwards into the ice sculpture swan. Tony blinks, baffled, until Steve steps back and he puts two and two together.

 

“Holy shit, Steve.”

 

Steve rolls his shoulders, brushing his hands off on his jacket. “We should go let the police know what happened.”

 

“What? I’m not tattling on you throwing Ty into an ice sculpture.”

 

“With AIM, Tony.”

 

“Oh. Yeah, okay.” He glances over at Ty, who looks furious as he gets up out of the icy wreckage, and can’t help grinning a little. “I won’t lie, that was extremely satisfying.”

 

And pretty hot. No one’s ever thrown a guy into a humorously large ice swan for him before.

 

“Felt even better for me, I bet.” Steve tries to hide a smile, but Tony catches his eye and he smiles wider.

 

As the emergency personnel make their way through the scene in the ballroom, Tony does his best to tell them what happened, feeling guilty about this whole situation. If there was some sort of hidden vault his dad left here, he’d have to find and empty it so nobody else came looking.

 

He meets back up with Steve once everything is sorted out, waiting for the car that will take them back to the Academy. Steve’s suit is torn in a few places, and Tony makes a mental note to get him a replacement. It’s the least he can do after all this.

 

“Hey, I wanted to say thanks,” he says after a few uncomfortable moments of silence. Steve looks up from the shattered mirror he’d been staring at. “For coming with me and saving the day and all that, but mostly for standing up to Ty for me. I mean, I could totally have handled it myself, obviously, but probably not by tossing him into a really expensive ice swan—”

 

“Tony, you’re welcome.”

 

Tony closes his mouth and smiles. It’s nice to know Steve maybe doesn’t hate him after all.

 

“I had fun,” Steve adds. “Even though I had to fend off your exes and got knocked out by a bunch of AIM goons.”

 

Wincing, Tony rubs the back of his neck. “Yeah, and uh, we’re definitely going to be headlines tomorrow, so sorry for that.”

 

Steve shrugs. “Don’t worry about it. I can handle a few gossipy headlines.”

 

“If you’re sure.”

 

“Very sure.” Steve reaches out and clasps him on the shoulder. Tony can practically feel the warmth radiating from Steve’s hand through his tux. It’s strangely comforting.

 

*

 

There are indeed headlines on various news sites the next morning, some focusing on the AIM attack, others more concerned with the fact Steve was there as Tony’s date. Sunset Bain had a few choice words to give one of the journalists about that, but thankfully Ty hadn’t said anything to anyone about Captain America throwing him into a table decoration.

 

Steve sighs after skimming a couple more articles, then shuts off his computer. What’s done is done. Tony’s safe, and Steve had a surprisingly fun time last night, AIM attack and all. (Frankly, dealing with AIM was more fun than mingling during the actual party.)

 

He gets in an extra run at the Stadium during his morning workout, then—only slightly guilty—stops at the coffee cart for something extra sugary. He deserves it after last night.

 

To his surprise, Tony is already at the cart, snapping a lid on something plain and dark. He smiles nervously when he catches sight of Steve, but he doesn’t run for it.

 

“Surprised to see you up this early,” Steve says after he orders his own drink. “Especially on a Saturday.”

 

Tony scuffs his heel on the sidewalk, shrugging. “Fighting off AIM tires me out, I guess. How’s it going on your end?”

 

“Pretty good. They didn’t really rough me up much.”

 

Tony sips at his coffee, glancing away. “Guess you didn’t go online this morning?”

 

Oh, is that why Tony looks nervous? He tries to sound reassuring as he says, “Yeah, actually. It’s no big deal. I saw a few articles, but it’s all just gossip.” The only photo anyone had posted was one with Steve’s hand on Tony’s back, and that was hardly scandalous.

 

“I can get them to take it all down,” Tony says quickly, almost before Steve’s done talking. “Or I can just hack and delete—”

 

“Tony, it’s fine! I don’t mind.”

 

The coffee cart guy holds out his order, and Steve takes it and gives it a sip to taste test. He glances at Tony, tilting his head to the side, and Tony moves off the sidewalk with him to stand out of the way by a nearby tree.

 

“What’s this really about, huh? There were gossipy articles about you and Jan and Natasha, but you didn’t seem to care about those. I thought that’s what you wanted people to think by bringing us?”

 

Tony frowns, running his thumb over the rim of his coffee cup. “I don’t know what I wanted. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but...it wasn’t sustainable, apparently.”

 

Tony looks almost disappointed by that, and Steve wishes he knew what to do to get rid of that expression.

 

“Well, hey. Any time you need someone to fight off AIM and ruin a nice suit, you know where I am.”

 

Tony doesn’t respond, so Steve figures he should let him be, telling him he’d see him later and turning to go. He doesn’t make it far before Tony finally speaks up, halting him in his tracks.

 

“Hey, Steve. That end of the year dance is coming up soon.”

 

Steve looks back at Tony with confusion, unsure why he’s bringing it up. The whole campus has been bursting with excitement about it for the past few weeks. It’s kind of impossible to _not_ know about it.

 

Tony shifts his weight from one foot to the other, taking a breath and straightening his shoulders as if steeling himself for a blow. “Wanna come with me?”

 

Steve freezes. It feels like his heart’s beating in overtime, but the question doesn’t make sense. “It’s a normal school dance, Tony. You don’t need to take a fake date here.”

 

“Ah, no,” Tony says sheepishly, taking a few steps forward. “As my real date.”

 

Steve stares at him. He’d think he was hearing things if he wasn’t bio-engineered to have better than perfect hearing. He must stay silent for too long, because Tony steps back, hastily adding,

 

“You’re right, that’s a stupid idea. My bad.”

 

“Yes,” Steve blurts out, and Tony takes another step backwards, startled. Steve hurries to clarify. “Yes I’ll go with you. For real. It’s not stupid.”

 

Tony blinks, unmoving this time, and for once Steve can’t read him. Did he say something wrong? Was Tony just joking with him? He had a hard time recognizing jokes sometimes.

 

“Sorry, was that not—?”

 

“Holy shit,” Tony interrupts. “Really?” His blank expression gives way to a wide smile, and Steve can’t help smiling back.

 

“Really really.”

 

“Cool. Wow.” Tony rocks back on his heels, looking like he doesn’t know what to say first. “Does our first date count?”

 

“Do you want it to count?” Steve asks.

 

Tony hums thoughtfully, then nods. “Yeah. So I owe you one of these.” He steps in close and pecks Steve on the lips, surprisingly chaste. “Thanks for the wild date last night.”

 

He laughs at his own joke, shaking Steve out of his half-shocked, half-elated stupor at actually being kissed by Tony Stark in time to respond, “Let’s hope the next one features less supervillains.”

 

“You know Avengers Academy. Supervillains are kind of mandatory.”

 

Steve laughs this time, not hesitating to lean in and give Tony a kiss of his own. Tony’s lips are astonishingly soft, parted slightly in surprise, but Steve doesn’t want to push his luck. He pulls away after a long moment, licking his lips. They taste too much like his own coffee and not enough like Tony.

 

“Maybe we should have a second date before the dance,” he suggests, dragging his gaze away from Tony’s mouth and up to his eyes. “Get all the supervillains out of our system before they ruin the party.”

 

Tony nods absently, still staring at Steve. “They do say the third time’s the charm.”

 

“Yeah. I’d like that,” Steve says, and leans in for another kiss just to prove the saying right. For once he doesn’t care about supervillains or gossipy news headlines or anyone who could be walking by. It’s just him and Tony.

 

The third time is definitely amazing, but so is the fourth, and fifth, and every time after that.

 

**end.**

**Author's Note:**

> This fic has a post [here](http://aleator.tumblr.com/post/165627868379) @ tumblr!


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